Residents win battle over seven-day-a-week factory plans

Marshide residents have won a battle to stop an factory extending its operating hours weekdays.

Manufacturing company IMS wanted to extend its operating hours on Saturday and become a seven-day-a-week factory by opening on Sundays for the first time. If the plans were approved, the factory would have been allowed to operate 7am-11pm on Saturdays and 8am-6.30pm on Sundays.

But neighbouring residents have grown increasingly frustrated at the growth of the industrial estate and objected to the proposals, which were this week rejected by Sefton Council.

Read More

Residents had also raised the issue of the estate at a Southport Area Committee meeting in September 2017, and had raised concerns over factories already operating beyond their permitted hours.

Cllr Sue McGuire, who represents Cambridge ward, spoke at that meeting of how numerous residents had contacted her about Slaidburn and explained how since many of those people bough their houses, it had grown from a much smaller estate into one that is now occupied by numerous factories which use loud machinery and are fre

The Lib Dem councillor had worked with those who objected the plans and endorsed a petition signed by 38 people. Others contacted the council directly to raise issues such as sleep deprivation, loss of desiribility of the area, increased traffic, light pollution, and a fear that similar propsals would be submitted by others on the same estate.

Read More

The application was refused by the council, with the planning officer stating that “he proposal to extend the hours of operation would cause unacceptable harm to the living conditions of neighbouring residential occupiers in terms of noise and disturbance”.

Cllr Mcguire welcomed the decision, stating: “I have been working with residents on this for a number of years and so I am delighted that the Planning Department have decided to reject the application for extended working hours.

“This is predominately a residential area with a business park that has always been for light industrial however recent planning applications support a creeping industrialisation of this area which raises concerns about increased noise and traffic.”